On the other hand, my father 'fixed' his finger with an unexpected bee sting.  From the time I was young, he had a damaged finger that wouldn't bend at the first joint - until he got stung on that finger.  He was about 40, bee was on tractor steering wheel.  He had an immediate, severe, localized reaction - swelled up to his arm pit, got epi shot at ER.  When the swelling went down, the finger joint had freed.  He spent the remainder of his years 82 with a working finger.   
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Each time I get a sting I thank the bee for my arthritis treatment... tongue in cheek.  But after keeping bees for 35 year and acquiring enough stings to not be interested in counting, my 70 year old joints are all working well.  Perhaps it is that I unconsciously carry the belief that stings have a positive effect.  If so, I don't mind.

Just adding to more anecdotal observations, I had a wart on my index finger that just hung around for years.  One day I received multiple stings in close proximity to the wart.  Yep... the wart almost completely disappeared.  I know - Post hoc ergo propter hoc...  but it still causes me to think.  Bee venom is strong stuff.

Early in my beekeeping experience someone told me that a study had been done on incidence of arthritis in beekeepers as compared to the population at large.  Does anyone know if such a study really exists?

Larry Krengel

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